This invention relates to a balance board of the type having a foot-supporting deck in contact with an underlying roller positioned between the deck and the ground and, more particularly, to an improved balance board of the type described which includes structure for maintaining the roller in contact with the deck.
In using a balance board of the type described, the user stands on the deck with his feet apart and with the roller positioned under the deck and in contact with the deck and the ground. The deck is usually elongated with opposed ends defining a longitudinal axis therebetween. The roller is typically cylindrical and held in some manner so that the axis of the roller remains perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the deck. When the user stands on the deck, his feet are generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the deck and are spaced along a line which is parallel to the longitudinal axis. The roller is positioned below the deck between the user's feet and the user rocks his body from side to side to maintain his balance.
To allow the user to move and change direction, it is also known to provide a roller which is tapered from a major central diameter to a smaller diameter at its ends. The user can pitch his body from front to back to tilt the deck about its longitudinal axis to cause smaller diameter portions of the roller to contact the ground, with the major diameter remaining in contact with the deck, so that the board partakes of arcuate travel.
All of the known prior art balance boards of the type described are disadvantageous in that they do not adequately maintain the roller in contact with the underside of the deck as the roller travels along the length of the deck. It would therefore be desirable to have a balance board of the type described which includes structure for maintaining the roller in contact with the underside of the deck along the entire length of travel of the roller, even during radical maneuvers of the board.
It would also be desirable to have such a balance board wherein the roller is tapered so that the user can change direction when moving on the board.